Flask operating head



March 27, 1945. c. F. SMITH 2,372,454

FLASK OPERATING HEAD Filed April 4, 1941 Patented Mar. 27, 1945 o181 1 1511) sures PATENT; OFFICE 'j FLASK OPERATING HEAD Carlisle F. Smith, Elmira, N. Y., assignor to'Ameri'can-La France-Foam ite Corporation, Elmira, N .Y., a corporation of New York Application April 4, 1941, Serial No. 386,836

5' Claims. (01122-5) '1, J

The invention relatesto pressure containers or 1 flasks of the type closed byse'aling discs'which are punctured or out to release the Contents and, more particularly, to carbon-dioxide flasks which are required to be opened quickly and fully in time of emergency, as, for example, in fireextinguishing "systems. The need in 'all cases is for a wide opening in the'disc made withthe least mechanical eiTort and fora direct and easy path for the escaping medium, as well as for compactness and lightness of Weight, the latter pro'perties being of prime importance for air-craft installations. w

This invention provides an exceptionally'eifi cient head to meet these requirements and is essentially characterized by the arrangement of the disc-cutting element in an oblique position, thereby aifording a number'ofl important 'advantages as will presently appear, and which can be utilized in various ways separately or collectively according to circumstances, but in all cases producing a head of small size and weight capable of superior performance.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 represents an axial section of the form of the invena packing nut 9 to the exterior where it is provided with a cable sheaveorpulley It] or any other appropriate means of rotation. It-is held in the chamber wallaga inst endwise movement by the shoulder formed by the top of the cute ter elementjinside the chamber and by the pin ll outside. Its innermost end or toe is formed with a spur or knife edge l2, longitudinally placed and normally occupying a position with its point or toe very close to or in contact with the face of the disc. Due to the oblique relationthe rotation of the cutter on its axis carries this edge through the plane of the discproducing an oblong orelliptical hole therein. Sucha hole is of larger cross area than-the-seotion of the cutter that makes it and it will be observed that this will tion at present preferred and herein used for ter is screwed into the neck of the flask 4. The

disc is fiat in the present case, though flatness is not essential, and is seated in a plane normal to the axis of the flask. A cover or casing 5 is screwed on or otherwise attached to the fitting 3, forming therewith an outlet chamber for the flask through which the gas flows to the discharge pipe 6 when the disc is opened. The disc-opening-cutter is set in the wall of this chamber at an angle which, in Fig. 1, is approximately 15 degrees to the plane of the disc and therefore also oblique to the flask axis, but the angle can be greater if desired. With the cutter thus disposed the discharge pipe 6 can be led oif directly from the chamber in a direction genformed as part of a shank 8 extending through be the case whether-the cutter functions by be? ing rotated .asjust described or by being; pushed into the disc as a, straight punch, without rotation or as referred to below; In either-base a given size of hole is made with a smaller cutter than in any prior design, and with a smaller cutter the operating head as a whole can also be smaller and therefore of lighter weight. It may be noted in this connection that in any system the point of greatest restriction always occurs at the disc and that in the case of carbon-dioxide particularly, even moderate restriction must be avoided.

On the execution of the cut, the pressure contents of the flask flow out through the hole through the cutter element and the holes l3 therein if it is tubular, and through the outlet chamber, to the discharge pipe 6. The elliptical cut-out part or blank, if not torn off by the force of the flow, remains hinged to the clamped body part of the disc, as customary in other forms of flask-opening mechanism, and this hinging effect can be assured where desired, by appropriately spacing the toe of the cutter from the disc when in its normal position. By imparting a slight endwise movement to this cutter a complete ellipse may be cut out, as will presently appear. The cutting of the disc is done with a wiping action along the length of the cutting edge on the spur, and this makes the cutting easier. Also it is noted that while the cutting stroke is inward or downward during the first half of the rotation it is upward or outward during the remaining half, and this assists in turning the cut-out flap upwardly into the interior of the cutter or the outlet chamber so as to be out of obstructing position to the out-flow.

In Fig. 4, the oblique tubular cutter I4 is advanced endwise toward and into the disc as it parent thatethe cutting edge can be variously designed in any form of the invention to enter the disc either by virtue of its rotation or its simultaneous rotation and endwise movement, as

preferred. When the action is solely rotary the I 9 operating head has its most ,-compact form since, no clearance for endwise cutter motion is required, and the outlet chamber can thereby be reduced to its minimum functioning dimension. It is pointed out that the location" of the cutteradvancing thread on the exterior of the boss instead of on the inside of the casing as heretofore is a further factor of compactness permit- 4 ting a shorter stem or shank for the cutter. While it is preferred to have the disc" square to theflask axis and thecutter oblique thereto, it is obviously quite possible, alsopractical, for this relation to be reversed with the disc obliquely placed" and the cutter located at such angle to it as to produce the same elliptically enlarged hole in it. This and many other possible variations are intended to be embraced in the claims which follow.

I claim: I r

1. An operating'liead for theoutlet of disc'- sealed flasks forming a flask outlet chamber, a sealingdisc clamped in the chamber to seal the flask outlet therein, and a rotary disc-cutter mounted in the chamber on an axis oblique to the disc" and having a: toe with a substantially longitudinal cutting edge adapted to out an elliptical hole in the disc;

seal the flask outlet and a disc-cutter extending through an externally threaded boss to the outside of said chamber and a cutter-operating Ywheelel'ement connected to said cutter and engaging the threads on said boss.

4'. connection device between a flask of liquified gas and a delivery pipe comprising an operating head fixed to the flask outlet neck and to said pipe and: containing a sealing disc of thin: material normally closing the passage through such outlet neck, disc-cutting means mounted in the wall of said head and including a disc-cutting element held against any substantial endwise movement with respect to said Wall, said element being rotatablev on its longitudinal axis which is oblique to the disc, and having a cutting edge projecting from it and said disc having a part adapted to be cut by the rotation of said element.

5.- Anoperating head for the outlet of discsealed flasks forming a flask outlet chamber, a sealing disc of thin material clamped in the chamber to seal the flask outlet, a rotary disccutter in the chamber mounted at an oblique angle to the disc and-adapted to'cut an oblong or elliptical hole therein, and means to rotate the cutter.

CARLISLE E SMITH. 

